Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell tonight recommended to the Board of Education a $1.68 billion Fiscal Year 2024 operating budget that focuses heavily on what he called “embarrassing” compensation gaps for employees compared to other jurisdictions and provides staffing aimed at addressing the social, emotional, and academic growth of students across the county.
In his first budget recommendation as Superintendent, Dr. Bedell allocated $80.8 million – more than half of his recommended increase – toward compensation increases for employees at all levels of the school system.
“We need competitive pay for our teachers,” Dr. Bedell told the Board in his budget address. “We also need competitive pay for bus drivers, custodians, maintenance employees, secretaries, food service workers, and all of the employees who work in this school system. We have employees trying to make ends meet while earning less than $13 an hour. I just have to call it like I see it: That’s not a livable wage, and it’s embarrassing.”
The funding in Dr. Bedell’s recommendation would bring the wage of every school system employee to at least $15 an hour. It is sufficient, subject to negotiations with applicable bargaining units, for a step increase or step equivalent for all eligible employees and a 6 percent cost-of-living increase for all employees. It also includes a $2,000 bonus for special education teachers, funding to cover 30 additional minutes of work per day for eligible Unit 4 employees; fulfillment of costs for Blueprint-mandated stipends for National Board Certified Teachers; the third straight year of a $5-per-day increase for substitute teachers; and the second consecutive year of a 10 percent COLA for contracted bus drivers.
“We shouldn’t have the vacancies we have in many areas, and we shouldn’t be losing people to retail jobs outside of education because it’s more financially feasible for their families,” Dr. Bedell said.
In addition to compensation, Dr. Bedell’s recommendation focuses on equity; innovation; special education; the social, emotional, and academic growth of all students; early childhood literacy; and adherence to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. The budget funds from within existing resources the launch of a dual language program at Tyler Heights Elementary School next year and overall, more than 88 percent of the recommended positions are in front of students daily.
They include:
- 8 positions in special education to deliver services to students with special needs, including the first phase of converting Early Childhood Intervention programs to full-day prekindergarten programs to better align them with existing early childhood instructional programming.
- 21 English Language Development teachers and assistants
- 18 positions – including four school psychologists, three social workers, three school counselors, two pupil personnel workers, and funding to create a new alternative education program in the Meade cluster and also expand one at the elementary level – to address the social and emotional needs of students that include.
- 15 positions for additional 3-year-old prekindergarten programs
- 12 assistant principals
- 10 teaching assistants and permanent substitutes
- 5 positions to expand the Triple-E program to the elementary schools in the Old Mill cluster.
- 3 additional bilingual facilitators, one additional bilingual assistant for the International Student and Family Welcome Center, and one bilingual receptionist for the Transportation Department to assist families with bus issues.
- funding for 62 positions to move the Virtual Academy from grant funding to the general operating budget as federal ESSER funds provided during the COVID-19 pandemic continue to expire.
- 22 positions to staff vans and SUVs we are purchasing to transport students to nonpublic schools, freeing up more CDL-licensed drivers to continue to chip away at the bus route outage issue.
Additionally, the recommendation contains funding to open three new schools, one in the coming year and two more in 2024-25 school year. There is $6.3 million allocated to open the Chesapeake Science Point Charter School elementary program next year and more than $2.7 million in the first phase of funding for West County Elementary School and Old Mill High School West so we can begin preparations to launch those schools.
Dr. Bedell emphasized fiscal prudence in his recommendation, pointing to the lack of any request for additional classroom teachers to address enrollment increases or reduce class sizes.
“Do we need them? Absolutely,” Dr. Bedell said. “However, I believe strongly that we must first concentrate on eliminating the nearly 200 classroom teacher vacancies we currently have – by addressing compensation increases and other issues – and then approach the County about providing more teaching positions. We must be responsible team players.”
The recommendation also contains $10.3 million to fund Blueprint for Maryland’s Future mandates, including the dual enrollment initiative with Anne Arundel Community College that I spoke of earlier, career counseling through the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, and funding to expand the number of community schools program under the Concentration of Poverty grant.
CAPITAL BUDGET RECOMMENDATION
Dr. Bedell’s $197 million FY2024 capital budget recommendation contains $132.4 million for major capital projects that include construction at the following schools, in priority order:
- West County Elementary School construction, $12.6 million
- Old Mill Middle School South construction, $37.3 million
- Center of Applied Technology – North construction, $58.4 million
- Old Mill Middle School North design/construction, $11.4 million
- Old Mill High School design/construction, $12.7 million
The Old Mill High School request is for a new facility on the school’s current Patriot Lane site and separate from the construction of Old Mill High School West, which is being built on the former Papa John’s Farm in Severn.
The plan also contains $37.0 million for building systems renovations, $7.0 million to continue to reduce the maintenance backlog, and $4.0 million for classroom additions. Also included is $3.5 million for athletic stadium improvements, a $3.0 million request for roof replacement projects, and $2.0 million for security related upgrades.
BUDGET HEARINGS, WORKSHOP
The Board has scheduled a public workshop and two public hearings on Dr. Bedell’s budget recommendation.
The workshop will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17, 2022, in the Board Room at the Parham Building. Public hearings will be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at Old Mill High School, and Thursday, January 26, 2023, in the Board Room at the Parham Building in Annapolis. Both hearings begin at 6 p.m.
Testimony at the hearings will be limited to two minutes per person and speakers may only testify at one hearing. No budget-related public testimony will be taken at the workshop or at the February 15, 2023, meeting at which the Board is scheduled to adopt its budget request. Should the Board offer amendments at the February 15 meeting, testimony will be taken on the amendments only. The Board has also scheduled time to meet on February 16, 2023, if it is necessary to complete work on its budget request.
The January 17 public workshop and the January 26 public hearing will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV and on AACPS’ YouTube channel.
Dr. Bedell’s full Fiscal Year 2024 operating and capital budget recommendations, as well as a text of his budget address and a Budget in Brief document, will be posted at http://www.aacps.org/fy2024budget no later than December 15.